PEMBROKE, N.C. – Entering Monday’s Sandhills Athletic Conference opener on the road at Purnell Swett High School, the Richmond varsity soccer team had accumulated just five goals in its first three games.
But all of that would change as the Raiders nearly tripled their total season tally against the Rams, as they grabbed their opponent by the horns en route to an 8-0 blowout win. Spreading the wealth, Richmond (2-2) used six different goal scorers to secure its second win in a row, splitting the scoring with four goals in each half.
After a slow start to the season, head coach Chris Larsen’s team has found its stride in the scoring column. After being outscored by three total goals in their first two matches, the Raiders have rallied to outdo Forest Hills High School and Purnell Swett (1-1-1) by a margin of 12-1.
Monday’s shutout against the Rams is Richmond’s first this season, shared by senior goalkeeper Jackson Haley and sophomore Kaden Walker (each played a half), and was the 12th win in a row against Purnell Swett dating back to the 2013 season. In that span, the Raiders have outscored the Rams 80-9, and have not allowed them to score in eight of those contests.
“Overall, we have a pretty good record against them,” Larsen said of his opponent Monday. “They’re hot and cold, and may be having a down year this year, but we have to go into every game thinking it’s going to be a challenge. A bounce here or a bounce there could mean a whole different game.
“It’s good to see some goals go in, and for the entire season, we’ve been trending in the right direction,” he added. “We played a really good game against Porter Ridge, and got some good goals against Forest Hills. So to put up eight tonight shows that we’re doing the right things.”
The Raiders got off to a fast start thanks to senior striker Carlos Alcocer. After scoring a team second-best 14 goals last season, Alcocer had been kept off the board through the first three matches of the year. But two goals in the third and 13th minutes by him gave Richmond more than enough offensive firepower to secure the win.
Alcocer’s first goal came on an assist from fellow senior Evyn Brower, as the pair charged into the Rams’ zone. After a neat pass from Brower, Alcocer chipped a ball over Purnell Swett goalkeeper Nick Ramirez, which he managed to get both hands on, but deflected it into the back of the net.
Just 10 minutes later, moments after Ramirez made a diving save on Alcocer, he scored his second goal of the night from inside the box after gaining possession and working around defenders Drake Mason and Nehemiah Maynor.
“One thing that I’ve told the guys that I’ve like what they’ve been doing the past couple of games is we’ve come out of the gate ready to play,” Larsen noted. “We’ve been able to put some goals in the back of the net early, and I think that sets the tempo for us. And it allows us to play a little bit more freely without the weight of the world on our backs.”
There were plenty of scoring opportunities on the night for the Raiders, as junior Cole Deane put a shot of frame in the next sequence after Alcocer’s second goal. Deane also laced a 30-yard volley down the left sideline a couple of minutes later that gave fellow junior Joey Nicholson an open shot that sailed just high of the crossbar.
Despite allowing the eight goals, Ramirez made several quality saves against Richmond, many of which were diving blocks. Ramirez made some timely saves in the first half, as he punched away a Luke Hawks drive on frame, as well as another Raider shot in the same attack.
The last two goals of the opening half for Richmond came via junior Steven Morales and Brower. In the 26th minute, Morales scored his first of two goals on the night, and his first of the season, when he took a Justyn Leviner pass deep in the goalie box and blasted it past Ramirez. Leviner was credited with his first assist of the year.
With under four minutes to go in the opening 40, senior Kyle Goodwin sent an outlet pass to Brower down the left sideline. Brower, who now leads the team with three goals on the year, made a move around a defender before sending his shot to the back post and into the twine. Goodwin, a midfielder, earned the assist to help give Richmond a 4-0 lead at the break.
Things were quiet for Haley for the majority of the first half, as he only had to make a couple of plays in net. Kevyn Leviner helped his keeper out in the 22nd minute with a sliding block in the box on Jafet Robles, which was followed by a Haley leaping two-handed save on Robles just moments later.
The only other offensive threat by the Rams in the first half came when senior midfielder Jesus Mendoza broke free on a rush, but shanked his shot attempt from close range to Haley’s left and off frame.
Richmond continued to control the game in the second half, as the Raiders possessed the ball at midfield or in Rams’ territory for an overwhelming majority of the night. Replacing several of his starters for second team players, Larsen also inserted Walker in net for the entire second frame.
Deane was rewarded in the 44th minute for his work earlier when he netted his first career varsity goal by blasting a shot from just inside the 18-yard box past Ramirez. Alcocer, who set up the play, earned his only assist of the night., and second of the year.
Hawks, who scored his first goal of his varsity career against Forest Hills, followed up with his second straight game with a tally on the score sheet. Similar to Deane’s goal, Hawks’ shot in the 53rd minute came from the middle of the 18-yard box, as senior Jose Fonseca set a screen in front of Ramirez to allow the ball into the net.
Morales tacked on his second and final goal of the night in the 59th minute with a no-look spinning shot from the top of the box that beat a sprawling Ramirez to the keeper’s right just inside the post.
Senior Evan Hudson, who Larsen uses as one of his primary center backs, got the call for the match’s final goal. With time dwindling down, Hudson rushed into the box on a through ball, but got robbed when he banged the ball off the right post. Moments later on a similar offensive charge by the Raiders, Hudson found himself one-on-one with Ramirez and poked a grounder to the right side of the net in the 78th minute. It was his first goal of the year.
Senior Evan Hudson (20) celebrates with teammate Chandler Sinclair following his first goal of the season.
“We’ve really been able to get a lot of guys a lot of playing time,” Larsen said of the wealth of scoring Monday. “It helps save our legs. And it’s a big positive to see what we’ve been doing in practice is working, even if some guys are coming off the bench — they’re still producing. Counting tonight, we’ve had more guys come into the game (off the bench) and score than those who have started.”
Like his fellow keeper Haley, Walker saw limited action in his own zone. He made a couple of stops on rollers, but his best save of the night came in the 53rd minute when Purnell Swett’s Jalen Hunt sent a free kick from just outside the box to the center of the net.
Though the win was nice, Larsen knows that his team has two tough challenges to round out this week’s play. The Raiders will head to reigning SAC champion Pinecrest High School on Wednesday (7 p.m.), and close out with a home match against Lee County High School on Thursday (7 p.m.). The Yellow Jackets made it to the NCHSAA 3A semifinals last season, falling in triple overtime to eventual state champion Chapel Hill High School.
“I don’t want to say games like tonight’s are a ‘warm up,’ but it’s good to have a lot of guys get some playing time so they can run through some things in preparation for Wednesday and Thursday,” Larsen concluded. “These next two games don’t make or break our season, but they’re a big part in that constant battle first place.”
